On Thursday we saw Dinosaur Jr. and yet again on Friday, so SXSW was going pretty damn good for me by the time I got up on Saturday ready to tackle our third day on the mean streets of Austin. We once again scavenged the free hotel breakfast (I once again had a bagel and a microwaved sausage and egg biscuit) and then got in the shuttle to the convention center to get this muthafuckin party started.

There were actually quite a few really solid day parties on Saturday, but the one we had initially honed in on was the Rachel Ray party at Maggie Mae’s mostly for the food and for The Hold Steady. Unfortunately, as we walked up towards 6th street we saw this huge fucking line which we eventually realized was the line for the Rachel Ray party. We followed it all the way to the back of the line which was clear all the way around the block. We waited for about 5 minutes, I was willing to stay as Daigle had not seen Hold Steady, but being that I had seen them I wasn’t exactly keen on standing in this line of death, so we eventually decided to bail on that party and head back to Cedar Street Courtyard for the Filter party once again as they had some solid bands adorning the lineup, plus free BBQ.

Upon arrival, we dominated some free BBQ (which we missed when we were there on Thursday) which was our first really free food or drink the whole week, but then we got an extra special treat when we ordered Miller Lites from the bar to find out that they were on the house for a limited time (ended up being about an hour). So we somehow found our way into both free food and free beer, so this had all of a sudden become awesomeness in the form of a day party. Oh and I guess they had some music going on there as well….

Black Gold – Cedar Street Courtyard – 3/21/09

These were the first band to kick it off and I actually really liked these guys. They had a very indie-pop vibe to them but they put it all together really well on the stage and actually had some pretty uptempo and quite catchy shit. I was digging their sound and I thought they did a great job. I will definitely keep my eye out on these guys to see what they have going on in the future as there is some serious potential there.

Chairlift – Cedar Street Courtyard – 3/21/09

I didn’t really know too much about Chairlift but they were at least on my list of bands I would have liked to have seen at SXSW so this worked out pretty well that they were here. They are of course most famous for having an iPod commercial song (”Bruises”) but the rest of their songs definitely trend more into darker new wave/rock kinds of songs that are generally pretty good. I also recently found out that these guys went to University of Colorado at Boulder (just like me!) so I immediately give them mad props for that. Shoulder to shoulder babies. Anyway, they were pretty good, with some good charged up songs and some more chilled out dreamy songs working nicely together.

Obits – Cedar Street Courtyard – 3/21/09

Obits was a kind of bluesy/rootsy kind of band that had some pretty alright grooves that were nice to kind of chill out and listen to while enjoying beers in the perfect weather, but they didn’t really do a ton for me beyond that. They were perfectly good and had some nice grooves though.

Asobi Seksu – Cedar Street Courtyard – 3/21/09

Jill has been championing Asobi Seksu’s live show all week and we finally got to check them out here on Saturday and I have to say they were really tight and pretty spot on. Their sound was really a power/indie-pop kind of sound with some very well put together pop sensibility so every song sounded pretty good and had a pretty good build to it. Lots of very radio-friendly kinds of songs that sound really sweet but have some rock in them as well. They had a really solid show here and I was thoroughly enjoying it. These guys are deifnitely worth checking out and I would love to see them in a more full show setting. However, I had been wanting to catch Loney, Dear all week though so after about 5 songs of Asobi Seksu we ventured off into the streets to other day parties.

On our way to Red Eyed Fly (where Loney, Dear was scheduled) we once again stopped by the line at Maggie Mae’s and it was certainly more manageable but still went somewhat around the block past 6th street so we trudged on to the Red Eyed Fly.

Princeton – Red Eyed Fly – 3/21/09

When we arrived at Red Eyed Fly they were running behind so this band Princeton was going up when we got there. Hadn’t heard anything about them before so didn’t really know what to expect, but they were actually pretty good. They look very young and I’m 99% sure the two main guys are twin brothers. Despite being pretty young and being fairly green in their general stage show they showed a lot of potential and actually had some nice banter with the crowd. The songs were fairly solid too, think we will probably hear more from these guys in the future.

Loney, Dear – Red Eyed Fly – 3/21/09

I was pretty excited about this one but somewhat didn’t know what to expect as far as the stage setup. I had listened to Loney, Dear’s Black Session from early March several times before SXSW and I thought it sounded absolutely incredible. And I would certainly have to say that even with the fairly bizarre venue and stage setup they pretty much killed it here as well. The one thing I was surprised about was the use of the iPod as a synth/rhythm track on most of the songs. It would be nicer if they had more of those things going live, but the songs still are awesome and work perfectly live. Very upbeat with incredible hooks and some great vocals, the songs are just great and just really fill up the room live. I had high expectations after the Black Session and I have to say they met them pretty much in every way and I really loved this set. Check them out if you get a chance, and the album “Dear John” is incredibly solid as well.

Camera Obscura – Mohawk – 3/21/09

After Loney, Dear we headed out of Red Eyed Fly since Jill’s favorite band (Titus Andronicus) was on there, so we ventured over across the street to try and catch some of Scottish rockers Camera Obscura’s set. As we walked up Peelander-Z was outside on the street after their set, which after all the talk surrounding it I kind of wish I had seen, it sounded insane. Anyway, after a short wait we got into the very crowded patio so catch the last half of their set.

They were pretty good, fairly straight ahead indie-pop with some nice melodies and solid hooks that really were a nice late-afternoon cool-down kind of band. I don’t think we really quite got the full experience because it was really hot and uncomfortable under the tent and very crowded so it probably wasn’t as enjoyable as it should have been, but they sounded really good regardless. I would say though that I would really like to see them again in a more proper, less rushed setting to try and really appreciate their stuff.

Well they cut them off pretty early (maybe at 5 PM), much earlier than the day shows got cut off on Thursday and Friday, and we were once again wandering the streets in search of food and also in search of answers as far as what to try and hit up for Saturday night…….

Check out my other writeups on our time at SXSW 2009:
Thursday Day Parties – March 19, 2009
Thursday Night Showcases – March 19, 2009
Friday Day Parties – March 20, 2009
Friday Night Showcases – March 20, 2009

Check out all of our pictures from Saturday at SXSW 2009 here!

Loney, Dear – Violent – From Dear John
Princeton – The Waves
Asobi Seksu – New Years – From Citrus
Chairlift – Planet Health – From Does You Inspire You
Black Gold – Detroit – From Rush